State Bar settles suit against Meazure Learning over exam snafu

The State Bar of California has reached a settlement with Meazure Learning, the vendor that administered the troubled February 2025 California Bar Exam, securing a $5.25 million payment and the cancellation of a $1.36 million outstanding invoice to resolve litigation stemming from the exam's widespread technical failures.

The agreement resolves the State Bar's lawsuit against ProctorU Inc., doing business as Meazure Learning, which the agency sued after applicants encountered significant problems during both the remote and in-person administrations of the February 2025 exam. State Bar v. ProctorU Inc., d/b/a Meazure Learning, 25STCV13089 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed May 5, 2025).

Under the settlement, Meazure Learning will pay the State Bar $5.25 million and waive its remaining $1.36 million invoice. In exchange, the State Bar agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice within two business days after receiving the settlement payment.

"The State Bar's priority is to ensure that the California bar exam experience is fair, accessible, and secure for all applicants," Board of Trustees Chair José Cisneros said in a statement. He credited the State Bar's Office of General Counsel and outside counsel at Hueston Hennigan LLP with helping achieve the settlement.

State Bar General Counsel Ellin Davtyan said the agreement would help reimburse the agency for expenses incurred in responding to the exam's failures.

"This settlement is a reasonable, appropriate, and acceptable resolution for the State Bar that helps offset the costs the State Bar expended in response to the aftermath of the February 2025 bar exam, including refunds, waivers, and stipends provided to impacted applicants," Davtyan said.

An email from Meazure Learning stated, "While Meazure Learning vigorously defended against the claims and continues to deny any liability or wrongdoing, Meazure Learning agreed to a settlement to avoid the time, expense, and distraction of protracted litigation. Meazure Learning proudly stands behind our track record of reliably administering over 4 million exams annually and supporting more than 1,000 organizations across industries over the course of our more than 20 years in the testing industry."

The State Bar filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on May 5, 2025, and filed a first amended complaint on March 11, 2026. The complaint alleged fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Jeffery D. McFarland presided over the case.

The State Bar was represented by Moez Kaba, Andrew Walsh, Tate Harshbarger, Katharine Ross and Joseph Crusham of Hueston Hennigan LLP, along with Davtyan, Deputy General Counsel Kirsten Galler and Assistant General Counsel Jean Krasilnikoff of the State Bar's Office of General Counsel.

Meazure was defended by Esbrook PC partners Christopher J. Esbrook, Stephen R. Brown, Laura Newcomer Cohen, and P. Renée Wicklund in Chicago. They were joined by Washington DC attorney Emma Leheny, a Potomac Law Group PLLC partner.

The defense attorneys were not immediately available for comment.

In the complaint, the State Bar alleged Meazure fraudulently induced it into a multimillion-dollar contract by overstating its ability to administer a secure, large-scale remote and in-person bar exam, then concealed mounting technical problems before the February 2025 administration.

Meazure denied those allegations, contending the dispute was fundamentally a breach-of-contract case, that the State Bar was attempting to shift blame for the exam's failures, and that any statements about its testing capabilities were nonactionable opinions or sales "puffery" rather than fraudulent misrepresentations.